The Fame Monster is a reissue of American singer Lady Gaga's debut studio album, The Fame (2008), and was released on November 18, 2009, through Interscope Records. Initially planned solely as a deluxe edition reissue of The Fame, Interscope later decided to release the eight new songs as a standalone EP in some territories. The decision was also because Gaga believed the re-release was too expensive and that the albums were conceptually different, describing them as yin and yang. The deluxe edition is a double album featuring the eight new songs on the first disc and The Fame on the second disc. A super deluxe edition with additional merchandise, including a lock from Gaga's wig, was released on December 15, 2009.

A pop album, The Fame Monster has influences of disco, glam rock, and synthpop music of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as industrial and gothic music. The album was also inspired by fashion shows and runways. According to Gaga, the album deals with the darker side of fame, with its theme lyrically expressed through a monster metaphor. The cover artwork, shot by Hedi Slimane, has a Gothic theme and was declined for release by her record company, but Gaga persuaded them.

The Fame Monster received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album charted as The Fame in some countries, and topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, and Switzerland. In the United States, the EP reached number five on the Billboard 200 and topped the Dance/Electronic Albums chart. The album has won multiple awards since its release. It was nominated in a total of six categories at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, including Gaga's second consecutive Album of the Year nomination. It won three, including Best Pop Vocal Album.

Background and development

Gaga released her debut studio album, The Fame, in 2008. Consisting of electropop and synthpop songs, the album offered a commentary on fame, duality between celebrity and fan base, as well as wealthy person's life. After the worldwide success of The Fame, the idea of a re-release arose.[1] However, Gaga felt that re-releases were a disservice to music artists because "it's artists sneaking singles onto an already finished piece of work in an effort to keep the album afloat." Her label, Interscope Records, initially wanted three songs for the project, titled as The Fame Monster. Gaga had already composed a song, "Monster", by March 2009.[2] She sought for a darker and edgier concept than she had previously done,[3] and cited her love of horror films and "the decay of the celebrity and the way that fame is a monster in society" as creative inspirations for The Fame Monster.[4] Gaga explained in an interview with Daily Star:

I have an obsession with death and sex. Those two things are also the nexus of horror films, which I've been obsessing over lately. I’ve been watching horror movies and 1950s science fiction movies. My re-release is called The Fame Monster so I've just been sort of bulimically eating and regurgitating monster movies and all things scary. I've just been noticing a resurgence of this idea of monster, of fantasy, but in a very real way. If you notice in those films, there's always a juxtaposition of sex with death.[1]

Unlike her debut album, the new record was inspired by the singer's personal experiences.[1] The early musical direction was also shaped by Gaga's touring experiences with The Fame Ball Tour, during which she allegedly encountered "several monsters" that encapsulated her biggest fears. These fears were divided into various monster metaphors, such as the "Fear of Sex Monster", "Fear of Love Monster", "Fear of Alcohol Monster", and so forth. "I spent a lot of nights in Eastern Europe," the singer said. "And this album is a pop experimentation with industrial/Goth beats, 90's dance melodies, an obsession with the lyrical genius of 80's melancholic pop, and the runway".[5] In an interview with MTV News, Gaga said that The Fame and The Fame Monster were like yin and yang because of their contrasting styles and concepts.[3]

A 30 second sample of "Bad Romance", which set the musical tone of The Fame Monster. The sample illustrates the chorus and the club beat, which forms the backbone of the track, as well as the "rah-rah" hook repeated throughout the track.

The Fame Monster begins with the track "Bad Romance", which Simon Price from The Independent felt set the tone for the album. He added that the track contained a "dominant atmosphere and a Gothic aesthetic, from the monochrome cover artwork of the single version to the crucifix logo".[9] For Paul Lester from BBC, the refrain of "Bad Romance" has sonic similarities to songs by Boney M, and the composition is reminiscent of Depeche Mode's fifth studio album, Black Celebration (1986).[11] A "catchy" chorus and a club-like beat is the crux of the song, talking about how love hurts in both good and bad ways. There is a sing-along hook—"Rah, rah, ah, ah, ah/Roma, roma ma/Gaga, ooh la la"—present in between the verses.[12] Second track, "Alejandro", incorporates elements from music of ABBA and Ace of Base, with the lyrics talking about Gaga fending off a harem of Latino men.[10] The lyrics were also interpreted as bidding farewell to a lover, accompanied by RedOne's production.[12] "Monster" consists of stuttering synths and instrumentation from heavy drums.[13] The intro contains a double four-square beat and Auto-Tune on Gaga's vocals as she sings the lyrics with a Don Juan womanizer metaphor.[12]

The fourth track is the ballad "Speechless", a 1970s rock-inspired number that discusses abusive relationships with lyrics like "I can't believe how you slurred at me with your half-wired broken jaw". It consists of vocal harmonies and guitar riffs, which according to PopMatters, is comparable to the work of Freddie Mercury and Queen.[13] Gaga's inspiration for the track was her father's heart condition. She recalls how her father used to call after having few drinks, but the singer was speechless in her response, fearing for his death.[14] Produced by Ron Fair, "Speechless" was recorded with all live instruments such as drums, guitars, bass and piano played by Gaga.[15] The album's fifth track, "Dance in the Dark", talks about a girl who likes to have sex with the lights off as she is ashamed of her body.[16] Gaga has "resolute" vocals in the song, and the synths ultimately lead to the chorus where she belts, "Baby loves to Dance in the Dark, 'Cause when he's looking she falls apart".[17]

"Telephone" was originally written by Gaga for singer Britney Spears's sixth studio album, Circus (2008), but Spears' label rejected it.[18] Gaga later recorded it as a collaboration with Beyoncé for The Fame Monster.[19] The song talks about the singer preferring the dance floor rather than answering her lover's call, with the verses sung in a rapid-fire way, accompanied by double beats.[10] Gaga explained that the song deals with her fear of suffocation, "fear [of] never being able to enjoy myself. 'Cause I love my work so much, I find it really hard to go out and have a good time."[20] In "So Happy I Could Die", Gaga presents an ode to sexual feeling and actions, stating, "I love that lavender blonde, The way she moves the way she walks, I touch myself, can't get enough." The object of affection in the track becomes Gaga herself[9] as she sings about drinking, dancing, observing, and touching herself, in a sedated, Auto-Tuned[11] voice.[10]The Fame Monster ends with the song "Teeth", which has a gospel style composition.[10]

Release and artwork

Gaga confirmed that the eight new songs would be released in North America as a standalone extended play (EP). She felt that The Fame Monster should be treated as her sophomore release and did not want to "add, nor take away any songs from this EP. It is a complete conceptual and musical body of work that can stand on its own two feet".[21] The EP was released in North America on November 23, 2009. The deluxe edition—a double album featuring the eight new songs on the first disc and The Fame on the second disc—was launched the same day. The limited edition, which included a lock of her wig, followed three weeks later. Interscope had planned to release only a double-disc edition of The Fame, but it was not feasible financially. So in countries like United States, The Fame Monster was also released as a separate standard EP.[22] On May 3, 2010, The Fame Monster Limited Edition USB flash drive was released. It included the explicit version of the tracks, as well as nine remixes, eight music videos, a digital booklet, single cover artworks, and a photo gallery.[23]

Two covers were created for The Fame Monster, both of which were shot by French photographer Hedi Slimane. In the artwork of the standard edition, Gaga is seen sporting a blond wig and a sleek, angular black coat, the collar of which covers the lower half of her face.[24] The angular obscuring of her face was a reference to the similar cover art for The Fame, but was relegated as "sleek" by Andrew Unterberger from Billboard. He added that "there's a danger in Gaga's eyes this time out, and the feeling of greater depth in its austerity: A star, but one with a lot to say."[25] The image of the deluxe version sees the singer draped in thick brown hair, her face embellished with heavy, streamy black eyeliner.[24]

Gaga initially had a dispute with her record label over the artwork; Interscope found the brunette cover to be too dark and gothic for a mainstream release. However, Gaga convinced them by explaining that both would be suitable with the yin and yang concept of the album.[15] The font used on the cover is the sans-serif letterform used by Christian Dior in their campaigns.[26]

Promotion

Performances

Gaga performing The Fame Monster's third single, "Alejandro", during "GagaKoh", in Tokyo, Japan.

Singles

The album's lead single, "Bad Romance", was released for digital download on October 27, 2009.[4] The song topped numerous record charts, as well as reaching a peak of number two in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, and Switzerland,[43][44] ultimately selling 12 million copies worldwide.[45][46] The accompanying music video, featuring Gaga inside a surreal white bathhouse, garnered acclaim from critics, who praised the risqué and symbolic nature of the plot, as well as its artistic direction and vivid imagery.[47][48] In 2011, the music video was voted the best video of the 2000s (decade) by readers of Billboard.[49]

"Telephone" was released as the album's second single on January 26, 2010.[50] The track reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Gaga's second consecutive UK chart topper and fourth in total.[43] It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, making it her sixth consecutive single to reach the top ten.[51] "Telephone" also reached number one on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, becoming Gaga's sixth consecutive number-one on the chart, tying with Mariah Carey for most number-ones since the chart's launch in 1992.[52] The music video is a continuation of the clip for Gaga's previous single, "Paparazzi" (2010), with the plot showing Beyoncé bailing Gaga from jail and together going on a murder spree.[53]

"Dance in the Dark" was intended by Gaga's record label to be the third single. However, Gaga chose "Alejandro" after a confrontation with her label and it was released on April 20, 2010.[54][55][56] "Alejandro" reached the top five of the Australian and Canadian charts, as well as the top ten of the charts of other nations.[43] In the United States, it reached number five, becoming her seventh consecutive top ten single on the Billboard Hot 100.[44] "Dance in the Dark" was then released as the fourth and final single from The Fame Monster in Australia, New Zealand, and France on July 26, 2010.[57] It had minor chart placements, reaching number 24 in Australia and number 30 on the French Digital Charts.[58]

The Monster Ball Tour

Gaga had initially planned to accompany rapper Kanye West on concert tour Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga.[59] After his controversy at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards with Taylor Swift, West announced that he was taking a break from music. All the Fame Kills tour dates were immediately cancelled and Gaga confirmed that she was going on tour alone to promote The Fame Monster.[60] Described by Gaga as "the first-ever pop electro opera", The Monster Ball Tour started from November 2009 and finished in May 2011.[61] Gaga and her production team initially developed a stage that looked like a frame with the show fitted within it. The singer felt that the design would allow her creative control.[15] Since the album dealt with the paranoias faced by Gaga over the year, the main theme of the show became evolution, with Gaga portraying growth as the show progressed. The set list consisted of songs from both The Fame and The Fame Monster.[62]

For the 2010 shows, Gaga felt that a revamp was needed as the original tour was constructed in a very short span of time. The new theme narrated a story where Gaga and her friends, traveling through New York, get lost while going to the Monster Ball.[63] The show was divided into five segments with the last one being the encore. Each segment featured Gaga in a new dress and was followed by a video interlude to the next one.[64] The tour grossed an estimated US$227.4 million from 200 reported shows attended by an audience of 2.5 million, making it the highest grossing trek by a debut headlining artist.[65] A tour special was filmed by HBO during Gaga's February 2011 shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City.[66]

The Fame Monster received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, it received an average score of 78, based on 14 reviews.[68] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine felt that the album was not a huge leap forward for Gaga, but provided "small, if fleeting, glimpses behind the pretense."[10]Simon Price of The Independent called it "a whole new piece of art in its own right."[9]Kitty Empire from The Observer said that the album is "a lot more splendidly deranged" than the work of The Pussycat Dolls.[73]MSN Music's Robert Christgau found it to be of "comparable quality" as The Fame and gave it a rating of A–, describing the tracks as "streamlined pop machines". Christgau further elaborated that "after being overwhelmed by the sheer visibility of her warp-speed relaunch did I realize how enjoyable and inescapable her hooks and snatches had turned out to be."[70]

NME's Emily MacKay described The Fame Monster "as pristine as you'd expect, but has a sub-zero core of isolation and fear". She went on to call the album's release as "the moment Gaga cements herself as a real star".[72] Evan Sawdey from PopMatters commended Gaga for being "willing to try new things" and felt that the album shows "she's not complacent with doing the same thing over again [...] Gaga is allowed to make a few mistakes on her way towards pop nirvana—and judging what she's aiming for with The Fame Monster, there's a good chance she's going to get there sooner than later."[13] Mikael Woods from Los Angeles Times felt that The Fame Monster continued to demonstrate Gaga's creative ambition and stylistic range.[71]

Jon Dolan from Rolling Stone called the EP "largely on point," and gave it 3.5 stars out of 5. He also said that "half the disc is Madonna knock-offs, but that's part of the concept—fame monsters needn't concern themselves with originality."[75] Edna Gundersen from USA Today observed that on The Fame Monster, "Gaga's icy aloofness and seeming aversion to a genuine human connection leave a disturbing void. With an avant-garde intellect, pop-electro eccentricities and freaky theatrics competing for attention, there's no room for heart."[77][78]

Ed Power reviewed the album for Ireland's Hot Press magazine where he complimented Gaga's ability to "always brings her A-game" in her musical outputs.[79] Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph commented that the album has "an irrepressible quality that is given full rein. [...] Although not as thematically integrated as the original [The Fame], Gaga's vivacious energy, bold melodies and almost comically relentless sensationalism keeps things interesting."[8] Josh Modell of Spin gave positive feedback regarding the fast-paced songs on the record, but felt that "When Gaga reaches for sincere balladry [...] she sounds lost".[76] Writing for The Times, Sarah Hajibagheri criticized the album due to its "lack [of] the beat and bite that made us all go Gaga for the eccentric New Yorker".[80]

Commercial performance

In the United States, the individual disc of The Fame Monster charted at number five on the Billboard 200 with sales of 174,000 copies while the double disc deluxe edition, including the original The Fame, moved up from number 34 to number 6 with sales of 151,000 copies.[81] The album also topped the Digital Albums chart with sales of 65,000. Seven of the eight songs from the record also charted on the Hot Digital Songs chart, led by "Bad Romance" which held the top position for the second week with sales of 218,000 copies. In total Gaga had 11 songs that week charting on the Digital Songs.[82]The Fame Monster topped the Dance/Electronic Albums chart, replacing The Fame and becoming Gaga's second number one album on the chart.[83]

In January 2010, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of a million copies.[84] As of February 2018, The Fame Monster has sold 1.64 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan.[85] For the 2010 Billboard year end tabulation, The Fame Monster was ranked at number 13 on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Dance/Electronic Albums chart.[86][87] In Canada, the album debuted and peaked at number six on the BillboardCanadian Albums Chart.[88] It was the 23rd best selling album in the country for 2010.[89]

In Australia, The Fame Monster initially charted with The Fame, but was later considered as a standalone entry. It debuted at number 6 on the ARIA Albums Chart and in its 18th week, the record climbed to number one.[90] It received a triple platinum certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 210,000 copies of the album.[91] In Japan, after being present on the Oricon Albums Chart for over 20 weeks, the album reached its peak position of number two in May 2010.[92] By July 2011, the album had sold 548,000 copies in Japan and ranked at number 14 on the year end list for 2010.[93][94]

In the United Kingdom, The Fame Monster was only available as a deluxe edition, not as a stand-alone album, hence it charted as part of The Fame. In its debut week, the record moved from number 55 to number 7 on the UK Albums Chart.[95] All the new tracks from The Fame Monster charted within the top 200 of the UK Singles Chart.[96] On the week ending March 6, 2010, The Fame reached the top of the chart.[95]The Fame Monster also charted with The Fame in Denmark, Ireland and Germany; it reached the top of the charts in the last two territories.[97][98] Due to its chart activity across the European markets, The Fame Monster peaked at number 13 on the European Top 100 Albums chart.[99] It was certified triple platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for shipment of three million copies across the continent.[100]

Time magazine listed The Fame Monster in their "Top 10 Albums of 2009" list, noting that it demonstrates "a complete understanding of what dance audiences require and vocal talent that's easy to forget underneath all that platinum hair."[109]Spin ranked the album at number 197 on their list of "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years" and characterized it as Gaga's magnum opus and a "mini-masterpiece".[110]

In 2012, Complex listed it at rank six on their countdown of The 50 Best Pop Album Covers of the Past Five Years. Dale Eisenger from the publication called both covers as "alluring and gorgeous", adding that Gaga's look was followed by a number of artists emulating it in later years.[111] In 2015, Billboard included the standard album cover on their list of the "50 Greatest Album Covers of All Time".[112] Andrew Unterberger from the publication wrote in a 2016 article that the cover arts were "much starker and more angular than the party-diva framing of [The Fame]. It's still very sleek, but there's a danger in Gaga's eyes this time out, and the feeling of greater depth in its austerity: A star, but one with a lot to say."[113] In November 2016, Billboard named The Fame Monster Gaga's best album.[114]

Impact

With the release of The Fame and The Fame Monster, Gaga revived electronic dance music during the late 2000s on radio. Jonathan Bogart from The Atlantic stated, "EDM came in by no back door but right through the front gate, with Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" in late 2008" and that "the sound didn't take long to spread".[115] DJ Tommie Sunshine told MTV that "there wouldn't be a David Guetta top 10 hit... there wouldn't be this Black Eyed Peasrecord, if it wasn't for The Fame. The influence of that record is epic, and we are hearing talking about all of this because of that."[116]St. Louis Post-Dispatch's journalist Kevin C. Johnson with his article "Lady Gaga helps bring EDM to the masses", acknowledges the impact. In the article, Rob Lemon said Gaga "definitely has had influence" and that she "is exposing people to the music, and anybody exposing people to it is part of the machine."[117] Radio personality Zane Lowe and record producer and DJ, Calvin Harris, address the impact of the album in a Beats 1 radio interview. Lowe states: "Mike Skinner told me this, cause we were having a debate about Lady Gaga and he was like "One thing you gotta remember about Lady Gaga, she put four-on-the-floor back on American radio" and that "up until that moment there was nothing resembling four-on-the-floor in pop music." Harris adds: "A 100%. They even had a hip-hop version of Poker Face, for radio" and that "it was the 4/4 one that hit, and then it just went ridiculous."[118]

Andrew Unterberger of Billboard stated that "Gaga raised the standards for ambition in pop." Unterberger said that "it didn't take long for Lady Gaga to prove that she was the asteroid pop music was begging to have crash through it." He further stated that "other pop stars have picked up the slack", concluding that Gaga "took American mainstream music at one of its least-interesting and most star-power-deprived moments and made it bigger, weirder, more visual and infinitely more personality-driven – in other words, much more fun."[119]

Critics acknowledged that with The Fame Monster, Gaga started a trend in pop music with wearing bizarre and outrageous outfits. Page Six's Jarett Wieselman stated: "I've repeatedly hypothesized that the success and adoration bestowed upon Lady Gaga has led every female celebrity to assume that whether or not she cultivates a quirky personality, her options for fashion forwardness are limitless!" He also said that "the 'Lady Gaga' effect persists".[120] Tracie Egan Morrissey from Jezebel, said that 2011 MTV Video Music Awards's red carpet "reeks of Lady Gaga's influence" and that "ever since Lady Gaga came on the scene with her bizarre masks, tall hats and concept outfits, everyone thinks looking like an idiot on the red carpet is a sign of artistic integrity." She continues: "Nicki Minaj has a horrible case of Gaga-itis" and that Katy Perry's "cube on her head is totally her attempt at being avant fashion-y."[121]

Jon Caramanica from The New York Times in his article "Girl Pop’s Lady Gaga Makeover" states: "It's Halloween-costume empowerment, sure, but her fingerprints are all over the revised images of Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, Katy Perry and Beyoncé; and on new artists like Kesha, Janelle Monáe and Nicki Minaj" and that "the work she’s done since her 2008 debut album [...] has nudged loose conventional boundaries." He then continued by saying that "If Lady Gaga has had direct impact on anyone, it's been, most surprisingly, Beyoncé, who has spent the majority of her career impervious to influence from her peers. Yet in the last year, in the wake of a pair of collaborations with Lady Gaga — "Telephone" and "Video Phone" — she appears to have come alive. The videos for those songs showed her to be far more humorous than ever before" and "it’s as if Lady Gaga swooped in and infected Beyoncé with a bug, a vampiric chain of events."[122]

^ abc"Discography Lady Gaga". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on June 30, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2010.Click on 'Bad Romance', 'Telephone', 'Alejandro', 'Dance in the Dark' to see chart peaks

^"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201002 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved July 19, 2016.